Engineering the Planet on BBC Radio 4

Can we design and build our way out of climate change? That’s the question BBC Rare Earth asked our researchers in an episode on “Engineering the Planet”.

Jacob Pantling, a PhD student at the Centre for Climate Repair, invited to the hosts to see some of his latest experiments. Recording in the “Cold Room” at DAMTP, he explained the work being done at the University of Cambridge to support research in the Arctic.

“My current experiment is looking at what happens when we pour water on top of ice, and we’re doing this in the context of thickening.”

He explains that ice thickening could benefit locals whose livelihoods depend on the ice, as well as providing a way to protect the planet alongside decarbonisation. “It’s not ideal, but perhaps it can help.”

Back in the studio, Shaun Fitzgerald, director of the Centre for Climate Repair, joined the panel to discuss where these technologies fit in our climate response.

💬 “I know it sounds obvious,” he says, “and we have talked about it so many times. But the point is, if you don’t reduce emissions, everything else is futile.”

They discuss scalability, moral hazards, and - perhaps - moral duties of climate intervention research.

Listen to the rest of the episode on the BBC website.